Google Pixel 7 may be weaker than expected

 When the Google Pixel 7 series was teased in May 2022, we were told it had a Tensor 2 chipset, a Google-made chipset that inherited the chip it debuted in the Google Pixel 6 series. We’ve just heard the first leak about this upcoming component, and it’s a surprising one.

Bear with me here as the source is puzzling: someone managed to buy a locked Google Pixel 7 Pro prototype and sent its launch log to the Telegram channel Google News | CN (Opens in a new tab) (presumably with Google itself The news tool of the same name has nothing to do with it).

The channel then shared key information: the upcoming phone will apparently have the same screen as its predecessor, while the Tensor 2 chipset is apparently very similar to the original.

If there are limited changes to components in the chipset, that means the Pixel 7 probably won’t have as much processing power as its predecessor, the Pixel 6 — but that doesn’t mean it’ll be exactly the same, as Google could add more AI smarts , but don’t expect a super-powerful Android.

That fact might put you off — after all, newer models of phones are expected to be more powerful — but in reality, it’s really not an issue.

Analysis: the worse the better

Every new iteration of the Android processor should be faster than the last. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 should be faster than the 888, the 888 should be faster than the 865, and the 865 should be faster than the 855.

In practice, however, things are not that simple, and we can demonstrate this by looking at benchmarks. At TechRadar, we use the Geekbench 5 test to see how fast the phone is in the lab, although other sites use alternatives. It has shown us some really interesting things recently.

Phones using 2021’s high-end Snapdragon 888 chip typically perform as well as phones using its predecessor’s 865 chip, while the latest 8 Gen 1 phones tend to perform below both. That’s partly because these newer chips have horrific overheating issues that can cause performance to drop off quickly with use — and there’s something to be said for newer chips that excel in areas that benchmarks haven’t found.

But the simple fact is that cell phones are getting fast enough. If your fingers aren’t fast enough, or if gaming graphics already outpace what a small screen can do, then you don’t need your phone to be nimbler. Instead, the new chips focus more on power optimization and efficiency, new camera capabilities and improved AI intelligence. Being strong or fast is no longer as important as being smart.

So it’s likely that Google is just catering to audience usage and is less about power and more about everything else. If the Pixel 7 doesn’t excel in benchmarks, that’s fine — the phone could improve in many other areas, and it’ll remain a contender for our best smartphones list.

>>>>>>>>>Google battery

Block third-party iPhone apps from accessing your data

 When you download and use an app on your iPhone for the first time, you may be bombarded with prompts asking for permission to access other features on your phone. If you’re like me and just want a new app to run, you’ve probably hit “Allow”, which gives the app access to additional information about yourself and your closest people more often than you’d like to admit need more.

By granting access to this information, these apps may share your data with digital marketing and advertising technology companies without your knowledge. Even if you originally granted certain permissions to third-party iPhone apps, you can easily revoke them at any time. This is to know.

How to change third-party app permissions

Here’s how to change permissions in iOS 15 and later:

1. Tap Settings on your iPhone.

2. Click Privacy.

In the privacy menu, you can select features like Contacts, Photos, and Camera to see which third-party apps have requested permission to access this information. Tapping on a contact may reveal the names and numbers of people in the contacts list that the Notes app has access to. You can stop access by clicking the slider next to these apps.

More in the privacy menu

In addition to revoking app permissions in the Privacy menu, you can customize which apps have access to your location data. If you tap Location Services near the top of the menu, you can turn these services on or off for all or some of the apps on your phone. You can also tap the Share My Location menu to enable or disable Find My iPhone, and who to share your location with.

There is also an option in the privacy menu called Apple Advertising. Click this button to view Apple’s ad targeting information and turn these personalized ads on or off. Apple says turning off personalized ads will make the ads you see in the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks less relevant to you, but likely not reduce the number of ads you see in those apps.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

The iPhone 14 may not be the most exciting smartphone launch of the year

 You might think the iPhone 14 is the biggest smartphone to launch this year — after all, the last few months of the year are usually dominated by Apple and its latest line of devices — but you might be wrong.

It sounds like the Mi 13 might launch early, and if it ends up being as exciting as we hope, it could end up stealing some of Apple’s thunder.

Apparently, the Mi 13 could be launched in November 2022 – which is earlier than we expected since the Mi 12 was launched in December 2021. The leaker said the progress was a month earlier than last year, which hinted at an earlier launch.

It’s all about the launch of the Xiaomi flagship in China – if you’re wondering why you didn’t see an ad for the 12 long after December, it’s because the global launch is March 2022. We expect the Mi 13 to repeat this pattern. If the digital chat station is correct, the Mi 13 could land a month early and thus be a closer competitor to Apple’s latest iPhone, which probably won’t land too long before then, although it will be a Surprisingly early release. We may also see an early global launch, which could make its global launch around the same time as the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

The leaks continue, the new phones – note the plural, which mentions two, which could mean the Mi 13 Pro and the standard model – will get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and will use Android 13, while one of the phones will have a 2K display Screen.

None of these specs are completely game-changing — they’re basically what we’d expect — but they’re starting to paint a picture for the upcoming phone lineup.

Analysis: What if the real opponent comes?

With the Mi 12 series, the company has steadfastly competed with other similarly priced flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S21 and iPhone 13 by downsizing its vanilla flagship to create a small phone.

But Xiaomi may not be able to launch a full complement of phones to compete with Apple, judging by only two of the 13 phones, and Xiaomi typically staggers the launch of its flagship series.

Since the Mi 13 Ultra will likely only be launched in mid-2023, a real competitor to the iPhone 14 Pro Max may not appear, although the standard and Pro Xiaomi and Apple phones may be comparable, it is unlikely that will be the Mi 13 device, comparable to the expected iPhone 14 Max.

Xiaomi may be able to offer what Apple can’t: an affordable alternative. The Mi 12T series will likely launch in August or September as a mid-range Android phone with the features of the Mi 12 series, but at a lower price than it (and the iPhone), and we may see the Mi 13 Lite at some point as well.

Apple and Xiaomi target different audiences, so while they’ll have some competing devices, it makes sense that they both have devices that stand out. But people who can afford a high-end phone and want top-notch camera features may find it difficult to choose between each of the Pro phones on offer – we’ll have to see both the Mi 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max on our list The best camera phone in the position.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Phone battery

Your iPhone can copy text from photos

 You can digitize recipes, handwritten notes, and more with this iPhone trick. There’s a better way to digitize handwritten notes, old family recipes, or any other hard-paper copy that might exist. The iPhone has a feature called Live Text that can quickly digitize notes (and anything else).

Live Text is a computer vision-based tool that lets your iPhone use its camera to copy and paste photos from text, among other features. It was announced at Apple’s virtual WWDC 2021 and is one of the features available in Apple’s iOS 15.

Copying and pasting text from images is not new to smartphones. With Google Lens, Android users may already be familiar with this feature, but for the tens of millions of people who use an iPhone, you’ll need iOS 15 or later to use it. Live Text is a little different from Google Lens in that you can use it to select, copy, and paste text in real-time from your camera because your iPhone is trained to recognize useful information. As I said before, it’s a useful productivity tool for copying handwritten notes or text from images and then digitizing them.

Live Text: Here’s how to copy and paste text from photos

1. Make sure your iPhone has iOS 15 installed.

2. Point the camera at the object with any text you want to copy. You’ll know Live Text is on as soon as you see a yellow outline around the text.

3. Click the live text icon in the lower right corner of the image to interact with any text in the frame.

4. Press to select text to copy as in a note or text message.

5. Click Copy.

6. Paste this text into another application, such as Gmail or Notes.

Much like Google Lens, Live Text can also search for text in images stored in the Photos app. For example, if there is a phone number in the image, you can click on it to dial that number, or if there is a French word, you can translate it to English.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

Windows 11 will soon let you see which apps may be spying on you

 Windows 11 has a brand new privacy tool, currently in beta, that allows you to see which apps have recently accessed sensitive bits of hardware, such as your webcam.

David Weston, Microsoft‘s vice president of enterprise and operating system security, took to Twitter to show off the privacy auditing feature, which appears in new preview builds of Windows 11 (tested in the Dev Channel, the earliest preview builds of the OS are going through their paces).

The feature is under Settings (in Privacy & Security > App Permissions), where you can see a list of recent activity, such as which apps have accessed your microphone in the past week, or your Cameras, another obvious point of call to check for any potentially suspicious activity.

It also keeps tabs on apps that have accessed your contacts, or details related to your location, phone, and more. In each case, the user is also informed of the exact time and date of access to the relevant hardware or feature.

Analysis: A useful way to keep an eye on your application

It’s great to see that the coverage provided here is quite extensive, keeping an eye on all sorts of sensitive information, from the obvious cameras and microphones to contacts and other such details.

This is a good piece of information in terms of transparency related to what the software on the system is doing. Regularly checking the privacy audits that exist in Settings may yield some interesting findings, flagging apps you didn’t know had their claws into some of the more sensitive aspects of the system (or highlighting malicious intent that was flying under the radar) content).

Microsoft has long had a bad reputation for privacy issues with Windows, especially since Windows 10, so it’s good to see the software giant taking a positive step forward on this front — which should help Windows 11 users stay better. Vigilance and overall security of your PC.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Laptop’s battery

How to Send Secret Messages on iPhone

 Collaboration in iPhone Notes allows multiple people to read and edit a single note in real-time, meaning anyone in the note can actually talk to each other. All they need to do is write something down, like you would through text, and someone else will respond.

But why use Notes for this, and not just Messages? Especially when you can edit and unsend texts soon?

Unlike text messages, any conversation in iPhone Notes can “self-destruct” with a little intervention, just like Snapchat. After you’ve written a message, others can delete it and send their reply, which you can then delete and replace with your reply, and so on. You can have very long conversations – there is no evidence that it ever happened.

If you want to learn how to turn your notes into a place to hide conversations on iOS, here’s what you need to know:

Create notes

On your iPhone, launch the Notes app and tap the Compose button in the lower right corner to create a new note. Next, type anything into the note to keep it, otherwise it will be automatically deleted when you exit the note. You can also just go into an existing note, but it’s best to start with a new note.

Sharing options for edited notes

Once your notes are ready, you can start the process of adding another person as a collaborator, meaning they can read and edit anything in the note. First, tap the More button in the upper right corner, then tap Share Notes.

Now click on Sharing Options and make sure the Can make changes option is selected under Permissions. You should also turn off Anyone can add people in case you want to be the only one who can add collaborators to your notes. Return to the last page after completing the configuration of these settings.

Add collaborators and share links

Next, choose a method for sharing your notes: you can send them via text message, email, social media, and more. If you swipe on the share option, you also have the option to copy link, which copies the note link to the clipboard and allows you to paste it anywhere you want.

At the top of the Copy Link page, enter the email address or phone number of the person you want to access the note. You can also click the add icon to search for your contacts. Need to add a contact to the note – if you share the link without adding a contact, others won’t be able to view or edit the note, even with the link.

Finally, click Copy Link to copy the note link to the clipboard and share it with your collaborators.

Secretly communicate via notes on iPhone

The other person on the receiving end must now open the note link and accept the invitation. If they accept, they’ll be redirected to the note-taking app and the collaborative note you just created.

To communicate, just type something into the note and others will be able to see it in real time without having to hit send. They will also be notified whenever a note is changed.

Everyone in the note will appear in color so others know who typed what. You can also swipe right from the middle of the note to see the name of the person who wrote the letter, along with a timestamp and any corresponding colors for when the letter was written.

You can also click the Shared Notes button, go to Manage Shared Notes, and turn on Highlight All Changes. This way, all messages will be permanently highlighted in their corresponding color, making it easier to read the conversation.

If you want to keep your communication more low-key, delete your message or someone else’s to remove it from your notes. That way, your conversations are more like on Snapchat, with brief or ephemeral messages that outsiders won’t be able to see if they snoop on your notes. You can do this with any text in the note, as well as photos, videos, links, drawings, or any other attachments you add to the note.

Permanently delete secret conversations on your iPhone

Not all secret conversations last forever, so now is the time to end it.

If you are the owner of the note and want to preserve the integrity of the note for everyone but prevent them from editing it, you can easily do so. In the upper right corner, click the View Participants button, then click Manage Shared Notes. To remove a participant, you can swipe left on their name and tap Remove, or you can tap their name and tap Remove access.

Additionally, you can tap the stop sharing option, which will not only delete the participant from the note, but also delete the note from all their devices.

If you are not the owner of the note, you can delete the note from the Notes app.

>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

Apple: 3 ways iOS 16 may drop iPhone 14 tips

 iOS 16, the next major version of the iPhone software, was previewed last week. The new OS will run on the iPhone 8 and newer, and could be released this fall alongside the rumored iPhone 14. iOS 16 includes new highly requested features and tools, such as the ability to customize the lock screen or edit sent iMessages. It may also reveal some clues about the iPhone 14.

While Apple told us a lot about the new features on the current iPhones, it didn’t specifically mention what to expect from the iPhone 14. iOS 16 seems to be no different. Some features look likely to give us a hint of what to expect from the iPhone 14 lineup. One of these clues is actually hidden in iOS 16’s code. Let’s have a look!

iPhone 14 may have an always-on display

See that Apple didn’t add always-on display in iOS 16. This is a handy feature on many Android phones and even the Apple Watch. The always-on display shows basic information like the time or weather while your phone is asleep. Instead of lighting up the entire display like a lock screen, an always-on display only activates a portion of the screen to save power. This is a huge convenience and will make the iPhone easier to navigate.

Apple-focused site 9to5Mac reports that it found multiple references in iOS 16, suggesting that the iPhone may support always-on display in the future.

But always-on display support can be limited, as the screen’s refresh rate has to drop to 10Hz or even lower to use less power; well below the typical 60Hz refresh rate of the average iPhone. The Apple Watch’s always-on display works at 1Hz, which isn’t supported by any current iPhone, which could mean it’s debuting on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, as it may require new hardware.

Specifically, the way iOS 16 notifications are constrained to the bottom of the screen makes me wonder if Apple is experimenting with ways to preserve screen space. This is important for always-on displays, as the feature only uses a specific part of the screen to maintain power.

Visual Find Could Mean More Powerful Movie Mode

One of the more subtle features of iOS 16 is improved Visual Find, which can identify objects, people, pets, and landmarks in photos and provide additional information or context. A nifty addition this year is the ability to click on any photo to remove the background. You can literally tap and lift foreground subjects away from the background, and add “cuts” to other apps to share or create collages.

Movie mode debuted on the iPhone 13 series and is basically Apple’s take on video portrait mode. While movie mode is fun to use, results can suffer.

Professional Mode for Camera App

You can guess that the camera on the iPhone 14 series will be better than the one on the iPhone 13 series. Many of these improvements could come from computational photography-driven features like SmartHDR and Deep Fusion, which are directly tied to the chips that power phones. So the iPhone 14 running on the A16 chip would theoretically have new camera features or improved photo processing that the iPhone 13 lacked.

Apple‘s addition of a customizable lock screen in iOS 16 has me wishing for an overhaul of the camera app on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. New professional features like ProRaw and ProRes video recording can make the camera app interface a bit cramped. Maybe there could be a Pro mode that can be toggled on and off, with shortcuts to quickly adjust camera settings. Or Apple might clean up the camera app’s interface to make it more visually appealing.

However, this is all speculation, and we won’t know anything about the next iPhone until Apple announces it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

Microsoft: New Microsoft 365 services give you a better way to protect all your devices

 Microsoft has announced an expansion of its software subscription packages to help users better protect their various devices from cyber threats.

Microsoft 365 (opens in a new tab) customers will now benefit from a service called Microsoft Defender for Individuals, dubbed “a new security app designed to keep individuals and families safer online.”

The app provides users with a way to secure and monitor all of their devices – across macOS, iOS and Android, and Windows – from one unified dashboard. It also provides tips and advice to help users further enhance protection.

The goal of the new service, Microsoft said, is to remove the complexity that arises from using multiple different security products across multiple devices and operating systems.

For example, someone might have an antivirus and ransomware protection service deployed on their Windows PC, but use a different product to block the same type of attack on their iPhone and another product on their Android tablet.

However, Microsoft claims this decentralized approach is creating a huge hole in the security armor, as full oversight is nearly impossible.

“To help protect your data privacy and device security, people often turn to multiple security products with decentralized security monitoring and device management capabilities. This fragmentation makes it harder to keep up with growing online threats, ” explained Vasu Jakkal, CVP of Security Compliance, Identity and Management. “We had to improve our security solutions to meet the unique needs of our customers in the home and work by integrating existing technology in new ways.”

While some users rely entirely on Microsoft security products, the company understands that many also opt for alternative services from companies like Norton and McAfee. Therefore, Microsoft has built support for third-party products into the Microsoft Defender for Individuals dashboard.

The service also promises to extend the default Windows malware protection to all devices, although it won’t override existing protections.

“We’re proud to take this step forward in our continued commitment to security for all,” Microsoft wrote. “The introduction of Microsoft Defender is simply to help you and your family fully protect you with technology you can trust. The beginning of digital life.”

Microsoft Defender for Individuals is now available to anyone with a Microsoft 365 Home or Personal subscription, and additional features such as identity theft protection will be incorporated at a later date.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Microsoft battery

Apple: New iPad (2022) could bring about Apple Pencil revolution

 If you’ve been looking for one of the best iPads, then one of your considerations might be a stylus — the Apple Pencil, the company’s popular stylus for tablets, lets you sketch, take notes, and navigate easily on iPadOS .

Since its initial launch, the Apple Pencil for iPad has gone through two different iterations—the original version launched in 2015, and the second-generation model launched in 2018 for newer iPads. The two versions of the iPad stylus work in harmony and work with different types of iPads, but one change in the new iPad (2022) could ruin it all.

Apple Pencil Problem

Despite being a popular accessory, the original iPad was not without its problems. First, it charges in an odd way: You have to remove a cover from the end of it and plug it into the Lightning port on the iPad.

After doing this, you have to insert the stylus into the tablet at an odd angle for an extended period of time, which means there is a significant risk of accidentally stepping into the extended Pencil and disconnecting the charging plug from the rest.

It’s one of Apple’s design decisions that is ruthlessly mocked, like a wireless mouse with a plug on the bottom. No wonder the Apple Pencil 2 is more popular because it uses magnets to attach to the top of the iPad for wireless charging.

The rise of the Apple Pencil 2

Over the years, the Apple Pencil 2 has been adopted by more and more iPads, including the Pro, Air, and 2021 Mini series. The reason is simple: Lightning ports are gradually disappearing from iPads. The Air line lost its port in 2020, and the Mini lost it in 2021. Now only the entry-level model remains.

Without the Lightning connector, the original Apple Pencil has no easy way to charge it; unless you’re willing to fiddle with the various adapters and dongles Apple has sold in the past. The shift to USB-C comes with a design overhaul of the iPad to facilitate charging the Apple Pencil 2 with a magnetic clip.

USB-C iPad (2022)

A new leak suggests that Apple’s 2022 entry-level iPad may get a USB-C port instead of Lightning. That would make it the last iPad line to ditch Apple’s proprietary charging technology, although the iPhone still uses it.

If this were to happen, the first-generation Apple Pencil would be completely redundant. There’s no new iPad to promote it, making it very likely that Apple will retire old gadgets.

Unlike the iPhone, Apple doesn’t sell the previous-generation iPad, so it doesn’t need to keep accessories to support different tablets. Sure, some third-party retailers may have the original Apple Pencil in stock, but if Apple does go all-in on USB-C, the stylus’s days are numbered.

The future of Apple Pencil 3

Apple is no stranger to discontinuing its technology. It basically does this every year when a new iteration of its annual product comes out — and the original, clunky Apple Pencil eventually had to go.

Still, being the first-ever Apple Pencil, it would be big news if the company did retire it.

If Apple only makes one stylus, we’d like to see its future and launch the Apple Pencil 3. The controls of the second-gen stylus are rather clunky, and there aren’t as many useful features as the Samsung S Pen, and there’s a lot Apple could do with it to improve.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

What you need to know about iPadOS 16’s new features

 Announced at WWDC 2022, iPadOS 16 has a lot in common with its iPhone counterpart, iOS 16. All Apple devices, including Macs, will see many of the same improvements through September 2022, but there are also some iPad-specific changes to look forward to.

Proper external monitor support

The iPad Pro with the M1 chip is one step closer to replacing the MacBook, as it now supports resolutions up to 6K on external displays. You can put different apps on an external monitor for a better multitasking experience with a higher resolution. It’s unclear if all displays are supported, but Apple showed off the feature at WWDC 2022 with its Pro Display XDR. You can even drag and drop files and windows between your iPad Pro and an external display, just like you would with an external display connected to your Mac.

Stage Manager, just like macOS 13

External display support is possible thanks to a new feature in iPadOS 16 and macOS 13 called Stage Manager. This feature allows you to create groups of applications and windows that you can quickly recall using icons on the edge of the screen.

On the iPad, this means you can finally have overlapping windows, just like on a Mac. This allows you to create more traditional workspaces typically associated with desktop operating systems. Stage Manager simplifies the process of calling up groups of different apps, and the “center app” feature lets you keep one app in the middle of the screen without going full screen and losing everything around it.

New Weather app for iPad

Apple has redesigned the Weather app for iPad, designed to work better on larger displays. The app will also be available largely unchanged on the Mac, offering features such as weather maps, hourly forecasts, air quality information, and a set of animations that make checking the weather even more… fun.

Re-emphasis on “desktop-class” applications

The iPad will have a renewed focus on “desktop-class” apps in iPadOS 16. This means the toolbar will be customizable, just like on macOS. Toolbar buttons have been redesigned to make functions such as translation or sharing easier to find and navigate, and a new context menu will provide easier access to frequently used functions.

Apple is also introducing a system-wide Find and Replace feature in iPadOS 16, which will make editing text in emails and documents easier than ever.

12.9-inch iPad Pro Reference Mode

This is for professionals using the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. With iPadOS 16, 12.9-inch models with Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display will be able to display reference color modes for photo and video editing. These functions work both independently on iPadOS and in Sidecar mode when using the iPad as an external display connected to a Mac. There’s also a new display scaling mode that lets you change the resolution of your monitor to fit more screens.

iCloud Shared Photo Library

Most other features of iPadOS are identical to those on iOS 16 and macOS 13, which now run on the same processor architecture and deeply integrate iCloud functionality. One of them is iCloud Shared Photo Library, where you can create a shared photo library for up to five family members in addition to your personal library.

Password Replacement Password on iPad

Password uses public and private keys in place of passwords to support biometric authentication. This means you won’t need to remember passwords in the future, as these keys never leave your device and never need to be entered. iPadOS 16, iOS 16, and macOS 13 include support for this feature, which is shared by Apple with Google and Microsoft.

A better Apple Mail experience

Apple Mail is getting features like Follow Up, Remind Me, smarter search capabilities, and suggested corrections when there are spelling mistakes. You can also unsend the message for up to 10 seconds after hitting send, which is basically a glorified delay mechanism.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Apple battery